


Black and Blue Bruises

by Chloe_Hallow_Eve



Series: Black Paladin Lance [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), Everyone is high-strung, Lance (Voltron)-centric, Post Season/Series 02 (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-26
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-10-11 04:30:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10454982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloe_Hallow_Eve/pseuds/Chloe_Hallow_Eve
Summary: The others find out Lance is the new black paladin, Allura isn't so believing, and Lance feels the weight of responsibility.Alternatively Titled: Black Blotches On My SkinSet between Black's Choice and Blue's Acceptance





	

Lance knew he wasn’t the smartest. He wasn’t the strongest, or the fastest, or the most charismatic or polite. He was just good with a gun, could flirt decently, and trusted easily. Even then, his trust was sometimes misplaced. But even if he couldn’t do much for his team, he deserved a baseline of respect.

 

Right?

 

“No fucking way.” PIdge blurted, face blank.

 

“It’s true,” Keith insisted, “Black opened for Lance. He’s the new leader, not me. He took Black out of the hanger, that’s what you guys saw. I didn’t do that.”

 

Lance watched the faces of those around him, tucked as far into the corner of the bridge as he could without seeming like he was hiding. Hunk was by him, both worried and proud, a steady arm around his shoulders. Hunk had beamed when told the news, saying ‘I knew you would be able to, bud’ and congratulating him without second thought. Coran had been a step behind, because why would they lie? Pidge was sceptical, but not denying that Lance could be the black paladin. He had been their team leader in the Garrison, after all, and had done…. Okay.

 

Allura, on the other hand, was not having it.

 

“Keith, Shiro’s instructions were very clear. If he commanded it, then Black will eventually listen.” Her stern gaze swept over them all, then fixed back onto Keith. “You cannot push your duties onto someone else, especially with a lie this large. Do you realize what will happen if we cannot form Voltron?”

 

Keith looked two seconds away from pulling his hair out. “Princess, that’s why I’m telling you this. Black won’t open for me! She’s stubborn, and has very clearly told us she want’s Lance to replace Shiro until we get him back.”

 

Allura frowned. “Forgive me if I don’t believe that for a second. Honestly, Keith, if you wanted me to believe you, you should have picked Pidge. She is much more suited to be the black paladin than Lance.”

 

“Excuse me?” Lance murmured. He didn’t really want to speak out against the Princess, but she was being kind of rude.

 

Keith seemed to have the same thought, eye twitching. “And why couldn’t Lance be the black paladin? What keeps him from being qualified? How much do you even know about him?”

 

“I know enough.” She sniffed. “He is immature, tactless, has no regard for serious situations, and insists on making everything a joke. I wouldn’t be surprised if he couldn’t focus on anything correctly.”

 

Well, didn’t that hit right where it hurt. But Lance couldn’t really object. He kind of made himself look that way to the Princess. Though it hurt, that she could still think that, even after they spent an entire night together.

 

Hunk, on the other hand, had no problem speaking up. “Princess, you might want to get your facts checked. Lance was our leader back at the Garrison, and worked twice as hard as anyone else to secure his place.”

 

“If that is true, then why doesn’t he show that here, protecting the known universe?”

 

Lance felt like that was a jab to him personally. His eyes dropped to the ground. She was kind of right. He wasn’t the leader type. So why had Black chosen him?

 

“Princess-”

 

“We are finished here.” She turned, placing her hands back on the controls. “Come back when the Black Lion has opened to you, Keith.”

 

Keith, red in the face, stormed out of the room. Pidge watched him go, eyebrows lifted, before turning her gaze to the Princess. Her eyebrows crept higher. Hunk squeezed Lance’s shoulders before leading him out of the room gently.

 

“Let’s go get you some food goo.”

 

Lance nodded.

 

 

* * *

 

When Lance and Hunk got to the kitchen, they decided together that instead of getting food goo, they would make something similar to empanadas. Hunk practically flew across the kitchen, gathering substitutes from every corner. Once he had everything laid out, he turned to Lance with an encouraging smile.

 

“Alright buddy, what are we singing today?”

 

Lance couldn’t help but smile back, even with his mind running through his self-depreciative thoughts. “You know me too well.” Hunk snorted. “I was thinking a few things from _Heathers_.”

 

Hunk stared at him. Then, “I’m going to rip Allura a new one.”

 

Lance snorted, walking to the counter and patting his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t kill the Princess, Hunk. We kind of need her.”

 

Hunk sighed dramatically. “I suppose.” He then grinned again. “So what songs?”

 

Lance shrugged. “A blip from ‘Beautiful’, then ‘Seventeen’.”

 

“The reprise or the first?”

 

“The first.”

 

Hunk nodded and bumped his hip into Lances. “Let’s do this.”

 

Lance bumped him back, smiling faintly. He really did have the best friend anyone could ask for.

 

* * *

 

The empanadas had turned out…. Well, they were edible. Just not empanadas. Hunk and Lance had eaten a couple anyways. They weren’t bad, just not what they were going for. Pidge had wandered in at some point, and the two best friends giggled uncontrollably as Pidge had to down several glasses of water after biting into one of their impossibly spicy concoctions. Lance and Hunk were both used to it due to their familial taste. The two of them had taken pity on the green paladin when they were on their fifth cup of water and made a non-spicy one for them.

 

“So, is it true?” Pidge asked between bites.

 

Lance hoped that if he played dumb, he could get out of this. “Is what true?”

 

Pidge didn’t look relenting. “That Black opened for you. Is it true?”

 

Lance took a large bite. He chewed slowly. Pidge was surprisingly patient while he took his time to answer. It wasn’t like he could lie. Well, he could try, but that would just complicate matters and make it impossible for Voltron to be formed. He had to accept his position before anyone else would, so maybe he could do that now.

 

“Yes.” Lance said slowly, setting his not-empanada down. “Black let me in. She even let me fly her, if you can believe that.”

 

Pidge examined him for a few minutes, then relaxed in their seat. “That’s cool. Wonder what the bayard will turn into for you.”

 

Lance huffed, smiling. “Whatever it is, it’s going to be cooler than yours.”

 

“Fight me.” Pidge took another bite.

 

Lance went back to eating. So, if Pidge believed him just with his word, then maybe he should talk to the Princess. She’d have to believe him if he was just honest about it, right?

 

* * *

 

That was not the case, apparently. Although, Allura was much more polite when speaking directly to Lance.

 

“Lance, Shiro’s instructions were clear.”

 

“That doesn’t mean Black agrees with them.” Lance frowned. “Allura, is it really so hard to think Black could choose me? I mean, I know I’m not really qualified, and I’m annoying more than not, and you don’t have the best opinion of me, but I think I could be the black paladin if you gave me the chance.”

 

Allura sighed. She looked out the window briefly, gazing at the stars, taking a moment, before looking back at Lance. “I realise what I said earlier was harsh, and I apologise. It was uncalled for and out of line. Even so, you haven’t displayed any behavior that would lead me to believe you are an adequate substitute for Shiro.”

 

“And Keith has?”

 

Allura took a deep breath. “No, he hasn’t. But if Shiro trusts him, I will trust him as well.”

 

Allura was startled by the bitter snort Lance gave. “You do realize Shiro had the biggest bias in the known universe, right?”

 

“Pardon?” Allura blinked. This was… surprisingly angry behavior from Lance. But then again, Allura thought, he always got this way when Shiro would address or pick Keith first.

 

“Shiro. He had a bias. You know, where your opinion is swayed by personal belief? Keith was his favourite. That’s just a fact. He never even tried to get to know Hunk or I better. Who was the first one he picked for difficult missions? Keith. Who did he talk to first, or give a proper goodbye to? Keith. I understand that they were close, but Shiro let that cloud his judgement. He never gave us the time of day.”

 

“That may be true, but that doesn’t mean you are more qualified.”

 

“I know. Just…. All I’m asking for is a chance to prove myself, Princess. Will you allow me that?”

 

Allura paused. Could they risk it? Could she really allow Lance the time to develop into a leader? He seemed so insistent that Black chose him. He wouldn’t go this far for a lie, especially one so serious. Maybe….

 

“Alright. I will give you this, at the very least. Lance, you will be the black paladin until further notice.” She smiled softly when Lance stared at her. “Do us proud.”

 

His genuine smile made her decision worth it already. “I won’t let you down, Princess! I’ll go start training now!”

 

“The black paladin armour and bayard are in the armoury!” She shouted after him as he sprinted out of the room.

 

“Gotcha!”

 

Allura’s smile faded. She had been fairly hard on Lance. Those things she said were all unfit for a princess. She shouldn’t doubt her paladins so much. Taking another deep breath, she turned back to the controls. She would have to make it up to Lance in some way. But for now, she would have to watch him unfold into the role he seemed determined to fill.

 

She hoped he didn’t crack under the pressure.

 

* * *

 

Keith stood, back to the wall, staring at the other one. He hadn’t moved in a while. He was so still, Lance hadn’t noticed him when he ran out of the room.

 

He had been walking back to the bridge after calming down to try talking to Allura again. Lance seemed to have beat him though. He was planning on just turning around and walking away, but then he heard his name. He had paused. He had stayed. He had listened.

 

Did Shiro really only pay attention to him? No, he talked to and supported Pidge. But it was true that Keith hadn’t seen him interact with Hunk or Lance alone. They hardly spoke, really. Hunk didn’t seem to mind, but Keith remembered Lance pushing to be the one to go on missions with Shiro instead of Keith. He remembered Lance trying hard to receive Shiro’s attention. And almost the only time Shiro gave him attention was to scold him. No wonder Lance sounded so bitter.

 

Keith pushed himself away from the wall, beginning to walk back to his room. Was he in the way? Was he stealing all of Shiro’s attention without noticing it? Keith and Shiro had been close before Voltron, the same way Lance and Hunk were. It wasn’t like Lance didn’t favour Hunk. But he did try to interact with everyone, didn’t he? And Shiro had shut him down every time because Keith was there.

 

It seemed like he was the thing keeping Lance from being better. As soon as he had stepped out of the way, Lance had been able to step up. The same had happened at the Garrison, hadn’t it? Lance had gotten to have a chance because Keith had been kicked out. No wonder Lance held a grudge against him.

 

The possibility that Lance might hate him plashed in Keith’s mind before he shook it away. If Lance hated him, then he wouldn’t have tried to comfort Keith. They were friends. But that didn’t mean Lance wasn’t harbouring resentment. The thought of Lance disliking him, even a little, hurt.

 

Keith rubbed his face. He needed to think this over. If he really was in Lance’s way, then he had to get out of the way.

 

The ways he thought of weren’t very pleasing.

 

* * *

 

Lance stood in front of the container holding the black paladin armour. It was still fit for Shiro’s body. Lance knew he’d have to put on the armour first to have it fit to his body, but it would be really awkward. And kind of painful. Like putting on your dead friends clothes. Well, Shiro wasn’t dead, _he_ _wasn’t,_ so that wasn’t a perfect comparison. But still.

 

Lance could see himself in the reflection of the glass, the suit on his body, but something about it screamed _wrong._ He shouldn’t have to do this. Shiro should be here, in that armour, ready for battle at all times. He should be scolding Lance for doing something stupid, but have that spark of amusement and that slight turn up of his lips. He should be patting Keith’s back, helping Pidge out, thanking Hunk for every meal. He should be strategizing with the Princess, and speaking of repairs that still need to be done on the castle ship. He should be leading Voltron.

 

Lance wondered if he would have to do all of that, now that he was taking Shiro’s place.

 

There was a wetness to his eyes and cheeks, and a yawning gape in his heart. He really missed Shiro.

 

Lance wiped his eyes and turned away from the armour. He could put it on some other time. Instead, Lance turned to the bayard table, where only the black one rested. He had contemplated grabbing Hunk, or all the others, to come watch him reveal his new weapon, but it didn’t feel right. It would be like showing off something he stole. Lance hesitated, then placed his blue bayard down next to it. He wouldn’t be using it for a while. He guessed this meant he’d have to put his armour back some time as well. Just not yet.

 

When the black bayard lifted and settled in his hands, Lance realized Shiro had only touched it once. Shiro didn’t even know what his bayard would look like.

 

The black bayard turned into a futuristic rifle, longer and sleeker than his blue one, with black accents. There was a blade above the muzzle, about the length of his forearm. It hummed with energy, the teal highlights glowing faintly. It felt as familiar in his hands as his blue rifle did.

 

He didn’t like that.

 

With a deep breath, Lance walked out. He couldn’t let his emotions hold him back. He was going to train, and make sure he could protect his team. Until Shiro got back, he would have to be an adult. A good example. HIs jokes would have to be limited, his focus channeled, and his strength increased. He’d have to be like Shiro.

  
Lance could feel the weight of what Shiro left behind pushing down on him already.

**Author's Note:**

> I suggest you listen to the songs Lance and Hunk are talking about. They are very symbolic of Lance's mood. Must protect the small child. 'Heathers', if you don't know, is a musical created in 1988 about the pressure of society and it's effects on the mental health of youth. There is a lot of death and angst. It is so good. 
> 
> So this is the first of a long line of angst updates. There will be a break somewhere, I just don't know where. But it's going to be kind of sad for a long while. I am not sorry. 
> 
> Thank you all for your kind support! It really makes writing these easier. I am so grateful that you all have decided that my work is worthy of your attention. It really means the world to me! 
> 
> Stay amazing, and I will see you next time~!


End file.
